NJ lawmaker calls for 'clean' bill for Sandy relief

Jan. 13, 2013

Superstorm Sandy tore off the roof of King of All Cars used car dealership on Memorial Drive in Asbury Park. New Jersey towns, businesses and residents are awaiting more federal disaster relief. / ASBURY PARK PRESS File photo

Written by

Malia Rulon Herman

Washington Bureau

A home knocked off its foundation at Inlet Road and South Bay Avenue in Long Beach Township was one of the stops as U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez led a delegation of U.S. senators to view the damage. thomas p. costello/staff photographer A home knocked of its foundation at Inlet Road and South Bay Avenue in Long Beach Township, NJ, Monday afternoon. US Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) led a delegation of US Senators to the island to view the damage from Superstorm Sandy. / ASBURY PARK PRESS PHOTO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO

More

ADVERTISEMENT

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Rob Andrews of New Jersey is asking colleagues to approve a Hurricane Sandy disaster package that focuses only on victims of the Oct. 29 storm.

“I’m very concerned that this Sandy relief bill not be a gravy train,” Andrews told reporters Friday. “I want to be sure that, to the extent possible, every dollar in this bill pertains to Sandy relief.”

He made his comments a day after Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based watchdog group, blasted the Sandy aid bill pending in the House for containing provisions not obviously related to emergency disaster relief.

Those provisions include $1 million to repair or replace 15 Drug and Enforcement Administration vehicles, $2 million for roof repairs at Smithsonian buildings and $10 million for FBI salaries.

Other provisions that have drawn criticism would make $16 billion in Community Development Block Grant money available to any state with a declared disaster since 2011, and spend $2 billion on road projects across the country.

The House is expected to vote on the Sandy bill on Tuesday. The provisions in question are considered key to attracting the 60 votes necessary for the bill to pass the closely divided Senate, which would consider the bill after the House acts.

Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York defended the non-Sandy provisions, saying they represent an effort to treat the entire country fairly. Schumer noted that recoveries from other disasters, such as a tornado that hit Missouri in 2011, still aren’t complete.

“The bottom line is that none of this is extraneous to disasters,” he said of the money in the Sandy aid package.

“If the House passes a bill that is clean, that only helps the areas of the country that have been afflicted by the storm, then I think the pressure on the Senate to act would be considerable,” he said.

Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey also supported the bill the Senate passed on Dec. 28. His office noted that while the bill contained some funding for other disasters, it would not have made the $16 billion in Community Development Block Grant money available to other states.

Andrews said provisions in a Sandy aid package are justifiable only if they are tied to that particular storm.

“I don’t think money to Alaska or to rebuild a roof that was not damaged by the storm is justified,” he said.

The same is true of money for DEA cars, he said.

“I would want proof that they were ruined in the storm,” he said. “If they just want to buy new cars, I don’t think that’s right.”